Elementary School "Stojan Novakovikj" (now Municipal Elementary School "Kocho Racin")

In 1937, the building was designed. In 1938, it was planned as a four-year school under the name "Stojan Novaković." From 1941 to 1944, it was renamed "Ivan Vazov." Since 1945, it has been known as "Kocho Racin." In 1955, it transitioned from a four-year to an eight-year school. In 1957, a new section was added. It was damaged during the 1963 earthquake.

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Given the location and size of the Dolno Vodno settlement, the Municipality of Skopje decided that the school should be of a pavilion type, accommodating around 300 students. It was built on sloping terrain, allowing the rooms to be distributed across two levels with a loggia serving as a mezzanine. From the main entrance, stairs lead to the vestibule on the first floor, connected to a long, well-lit central corridor around which six classrooms for 50 students each and three rooms for the teaching staff are arranged. One of the classrooms was adapted to serve as a hall for various ceremonies. Another set of stairs leads down to the loggia at the mezzanine level, from where yet another flight of stairs descends to the basement level, which housed a room for the building's caretaker and toilets (separate for boys and girls), as well as a room for various domestic purposes.

The building was constructed using a massive structural system. The roof structure is wooden.

Multi-pitched roof with roofing tiles.

The façade is plastered with cement-lime mortar.

The external carpentry consists of wooden double-wing windows and wooden interior doors. The entrance doors are double-wing, made of wood, wrought iron, and glazed.

The Elementary School "Kocho Racin" is built at the foothills of Mount Vodno, at the intersection of two streets, surrounded by a stylish massive fence that follows the street lines. The fence is constructed with a stone base, topped with arched openings made of solid brick and mortar, within which a secondary decorative wrought iron fence is embedded. The yard features greenery and trees.

The interior of the school was finished according to all hygienic and aesthetic standards, similar to the other school buildings constructed by the municipality the previous year. The stairwells and hallways featured terrazzo flooring combined with small black-and-white tiles arranged in a checkerboard pattern, bordered with dark trims. The classroom floors were made of wooden planks. The stair railings were crafted from wrought iron with wooden handrails.

The settlement of Dolno Vodno was established on the site of the former village of Dolno Vodno and, although today it is almost in the center of Skopje, at the time the school was built it was considered a peripheral area. Many of its residents were employed by the railway, but during the 1930s the area began to develop rapidly, creating a necessary demand for the construction of a school. For its construction, a plot was chosen located directly at the existing square, which closed the axial perspective of the then Luj Bartu blvd. (today’s Vodnjanska Street), at the foothills of Vodno. In the immediate vicinity of the school, there were villas—several designed by the architect Artemushkin—shops, and taverns. Further down the street was the first Bacteriological Institute within today’s Clinical Center, opposite which stood the house and workshop of the well-known Skopje locksmith Anton Ruchigaj.

Multi-pitched roof with sheet metal coverage.

The façade is plastered with cement-lime mortar.

The exterior carpentry consists of aluminum windows and doors. The original wooden entrance doors still exist but are not in use and remain closed.

The school still retains much of its original massive stylistic fence combined with a new iron fence mounted on a concrete base. The yard is spacious, arranged on several levels connected by stairs and paved with concrete blocks. It features green areas, trees, urban furniture, and sports fields.

The stairwells and corridors are original, featuring terrazzo flooring combined with small black-and-white tiles arranged in a checkerboard pattern, bordered with dark trims. The classroom floors are covered with linoleum. Much of the stair railings are original wrought iron with wooden handrails, although some new aluminum railings have also been installed.

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In 1957, when the new part of the school was built, a modification was made to the southern section of the original building, where the two structures were connected. For this purpose, stairs were constructed in place of the last two classrooms, successfully integrated into the space. At an undetermined time, the main entrance door and stairs were closed off and taken out of use. A floor was installed above the stairs opening, and the resulting space on the upper level was converted into a library. The second entrance door, located on the eastern façade, although still existing, is no longer in use. Its closure allowed for the expansion of one of the classrooms. The porch on the western side of the mezzanine was enclosed and converted into a classroom. In the 1980s, the floors in the classrooms were replaced with linoleum. At that time, a small entrance porch was added on the southeast side. About 15 years ago, the tile roof was replaced with galvanized metal roofing, the original wooden double-wing windows were replaced with aluminum ones, and the façade was refreshed.

The original exterior fence needs restoration. It is in poor condition, with large structural cracks in several places caused by the roots of nearby trees.

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historical architectural and aesthetic societal/social emotional The Elementary School "Kocho Racin" is one of the oldest schools in Skopje and holds great historical value as a rare example of a building with this purpose, constructed in the period between the two World Wars and surviving to this day. Education in Macedonia within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia reached its peak development in the 1939/40 school year, which corresponds with the first years of the school's operation. Across the entire territory of Macedonia, the best school buildings were built in Skopje during this period, when Skopje managed to establish itself as an intellectual and educational center from Niš to Gevgelija. Besides fourteen elementary schools, there were boys' and girls' gymnasiums, a teachers’ school, a commercial academy, numerous vocational schools, and the Faculty of Philosophy operated there.

The relevant institutions for the protection of cultural heritage and other decision-makers should take into account the values possessed by the building, recognize it as architectural cultural heritage from the period between the two world wars, and register it in the inventory of valuable objects. Recommendation to the owners: The value of the building should be respected when installing elements directly on the façades, and if changes are made, they should be aimed at preserving its authenticity.

Konstantinovski, G. (2001). Builders in Macedonia, 18th-20th Century. Skopje: Tabernakul. Tomovski, K., & Petkovski, B. (2003). Architecture and Monumental Art in Skopje Between the Two World Wars. Skopje: Museum of the City of Skopje Efremovski, M., & Chausidis, N. (2024). Artemushkin and Skopje – Architectural Creation Between the Two World Wars. Skopje, 2024. State Archive of the Republic of North Macedonia, Skopje Department. Arch. No. 6.1.290.2/597-825 Nova Makedonija. (2020, March 14). When was the first bacteriological institute built in Skopje. Retrieved March 2025, from https://novamakedonija.com.mk/makedonija/skopski-legendi/кога-е-изграден-првиот-бактериолошки/ Faktor. (2020, February 23). Life on Vodno. Retrieved March 2025, from https://faktor.mk/zivotot-vo-vodno Kovač, M. (2020). Pesniški opus Danice Ručigaj. Diplomsko delo. Univerza v Ljubljani Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za slavistiko. Retrieved March 2025, from https://abvedit.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/334764804-2-3b5d4113.pdf Troch, P. (2012). Education and Yugoslav Nationhood in Interwar Yugoslavia, Possibilities, limitations and interactions with other national ideas. Doctoral dissertation. Faculteit Letteren & Wijsbegeerte Universiteit Gent. Retrieved February 2025, from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/55902209.pdf